2009 Swine flu out break

2009 swine flu outbreak
Day 6

• First U.S. swine flu death: A toddler in Texas becomes the first confirmed swine flu death outside of Mexico.
• In Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was
  questioned closely by senators about whether the U.S. should close its
  border with Mexico.

2009 Swine flu out break

The 2009 swine flu outbreak is an epidemic that began in April 2009 with a new strain of influenza virus. The new strain is commonly called swine flu, but some authorities object to the name and it is also called Mexican flu, swine-origin influenza, North American influenza and 2009 H1N1 flu]. The outbreak is believed to have started in March 2009 and was classified as meeting the criteria for the World Health Organization pandemic Phase 5 status on 29 April. Local outbreaks of an influenza-like illness were first detected in three areas of Mexico, but the virus responsible was not clinically identified as a new strain until April 24, 2009. Following the identification, its presence was soon confirmed in various Mexican states and in Mexico City. Within days, isolated cases (and suspected cases) were identified elsewhere in Mexico, the U.S., and several other Northern Hemisphere countries.

By April 28, the new strain was confirmed to have spread to Spain, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Israel, and the virus was suspected in many other nations, with a total of over 3,000 candidate cases, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to change its pandemic alert phase to "Phase 5", which denotes "widespread human infection". Despite the scale of the alert, the WHO stated on April 29 that the majority of people infected with the virus have made a full recovery without need of medical attention or antiviral drugs.
Source: Wiki pedia

A timeline of events in the swine flu outbreak:

_ December
2005 to January 2009: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
receives reports of 12 cases of human infection with swine flu. Five of
these 12 cases occurred in patients who had direct exposure to pigs and
six reported being near pigs. Exposure in one case is unknown.

_
March 28: Believed to be the date of the earliest onset of the swine
flu cases in the U.S., Dr. Nancy Cox of the CDC said in an April 23
press briefing.

_ April 2: A 4-year-old boy contracted the virus
before this date in Veracruz state, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel
Cordova later said citing test results. A community in Veracruz has
been protesting pollution from a large pig farm.

_ April 6: Local
health officials declare a health alert due to a respiratory disease
outbreak in the Mexican town of La Gloria in Veracruz state. Health
officials record 400 cases of people who sought medical treatment in
the previous week in the town. About 60 percent of the town of 3,000
are affected.

_ April 17: CDC determines that two children in
adjacent counties in southern California had illnesses caused by
infection with swine flu. Both children became sick in late March.

_ April 22: CDC confirms three additional cases of swine flu in California and two in Texas, near San Antonio.

_
April 22: The Oaxaca Health Department indicates that 16 employees at
the Hospital Civil Aurelio Valdivieso have contracted respiratory
disease.

_ April 24: Mexico's Minister of Health confirms 20
deaths from swine flu, but 40 other fatalities were being probed and at
least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu. Mexico City
shuts down schools, museums, libraries, and state-run theaters across
the capital.

_ April 26: The number of confirmed cases in the
U.S. climbs to 20 in five states. Mexico reports suspect clinical cases
have been reported in 19 of the country's 32 states. Canada confirms
six cases.

_ April 27: The World Health Organization raises its
pandemic alert status to Phase 4, meaning there is sustained
human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least
one country.

_ April 28: Cuba suspends flights to and from
Mexico, becoming the first country to impose a travel ban. Argentina
suspends flights from Mexico for five days.

Source: The Associated Press